When The Soldier Comes Marching Home
by Courier999
Summary: Hank Müller is a military veteran struggling with PTSD. Things take a turn for the worse when Freddy Krueger takes an interest in him for reasons unknown. Can Hank keep his sanity, or will his PTSD and Freddy drive him mad? Set in present day. Rated T for language and mature themes. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: When The Soldier Comes Marching Home

 _A Nightmare on Elm Street_ and related characters are property of Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema. Hank Müller is my property.

Chapter 1: A New Home

* * *

" _Müller, report! Report! R-" a voice cried out over the radio._

 _Sergeant Hank Müller reached out for the walkie-talkie and picked it up._

" _Sir?"_

 _The voice on the radio changed to a smug and smarmy one._

" _Hey, hey, LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?" it taunted._

 _Müller winced._

" _Sir?"_

" _Müller, you've killed kids. We're not so different._ "

" _Who are y-"_

* * *

Hank Müller shot out of bed as an alarm clock blared.

"Mister Müller, are you okay?"

The door creaked open and a young blond woman entered the room.

"Miss Thompson, I presume?"

"Call me Tina. Everyone does."

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just another bad dream."

A concerned look materialized on Tina's face.

"Was it the war again?"

Hank nodded as he climbed out of bed and donned a set of coveralls.

"Breakfast is waiting on the table." Tina announced.

"Good. Maybe I'll-"

At that moment, Hank's mind wandered.

* * *

" _Lieutenant Walsh, this is Müller. I'm approaching the remains of the car bomb now. Looks like civilian casualties._ "

" _Acknowledged._ "

 _Hank leaned in to examine one of the victims. Just then, another victim rolled over, revealing a horribly burned face._

" _Missed me! Missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!_ " _the 'victim' taunted._

 _In that moment, Hank screamed._

* * *

"Oh God! Oh God! Get away from me!" Hank yelled.

Tina turned around at her tenant's sudden outburst.

"Mister Müller, are you okay?"

Hank shook his head.

"Stay calm. I'll get my mom on the line. She's a therapist in Dayton, and she's had a lot of experience with veterans like you."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you're going into this fanfic expecting elaborate deaths and Freddy being his campier self, you will be disappointed. This is intended to be a serious story about a military veteran struggling with PTSD while also having to contend with Freddy Krueger. Also, the Tina here is Nancy's daughter- the Tina in the original film was her in-universe namesake.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Meet Dr. Thompson

"Mister Müller-" Tina began.

"Call me Hank." came the reply.

"Okay…Hank. Anyways, we're here."

The two climbed out of Tina's car and entered the small building that stood before them.

* * *

"Christina! What brings you around here?"

"I'd like you to meet someone, Mom."

Hank shambled into the office.

"Who is he?"

"Hank Müller, former US Army."

Tina's mother extended her hand.

"Nancy Thompson, M.D. I work with veterans and troubled teenagers."

Hank nodded as he entered Nancy's office.

* * *

"So, how're you getting along with my daughter?"

"She's a good landlord, Doctor Thompson. That and a good friend."

"Good to hear. Anyways, she says you've been suffering from PTSD and had a freak-out at breakfast. Care to explain?"

Hank inhaled.

"I was daydreaming when I had a flashback to the war. I was investigating the wreckage of a car bomb when of the bodies rolled over and taunted me."

"Can you describe what the body looked like?"

"He was lean and was very badly burnt."

"Did he have a dark brown hat or razors on his right hand?"

Hank shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nancy sigh in relief.

"So, do you have anything that can help me?" he asked.

"I can give you a prescription for Hypnocil."

Hank shook his head again.

"I knew guys in the Army who went cuckoo from that stuff. I don't want to lose my mind because I can't dream."

"I understand your reluctance. How about we discuss possible medications next time?"

Hank nodded.

"Good to hear. And with that, our session is over for today. Call me if you need anything."

"Yes, Doctor Thompson."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: It Begins

" _OH YES! YES! YESSS!_ " Tina squealed from a nearby room.

Hank sighed as he idly stabbed at his dinner.

"Well, I don't think I can complain about my landlord's love life. Not if I want to keep myself in a decent place."

Tina rolled off her boyfriend Dean, a large smile plastered across her face.

"So, how was it?"

Dean was sound asleep.

 _Figures he'd be out like a light._

Meanwhile, Dean was dreaming.

* * *

 _Dean blinked as he found himself in the back alleys of a Middle Eastern city._

 _Oh f-_

 _Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a lean figure in a dingy hat walking up through the alley._

" _Who the hell are you?"_

 _The figure was silent as he extended his arms. The sound of his fingers scraping across the buildings' walls filled the air._

* * *

"Dean? Dean? DEAN?!" Tina screamed.

Dean rose up from the bed, picked up a loaded pistol from the nightstand, and started waving it around.

"DEAN!"

* * *

" _Who are you? What's going on?_ "

 _The figure chuckled._

" _One, two- guess who's coming for you?_ "

 _Dean aimed his pistol at the shape as it walked up to him. He gulped as he saw his assailant's badly burned face._

" _Oh God!"_

 _The shape raised his right hand._

" _This…this is God." he proclaimed, giving Dean a good look at a crudely assembled glove._

 _At that moment, the shape lunged forward and began to grapple with Dean._

* * *

Tina screamed as she saw Dean raise the gun to his temple, his hand shaking as if it were being forced upwards by some unknown presence.

"Dean! Don't-"

The gun discharged, and Dean fell over dead. And in that moment, Tina screamed even louder.

"Oh God! Oh God! Somebody help m-"

As if on cue, the door swung open and Hank entered the room.

"What's going on around here? I though I heard a gunshot-"

"Hank! Call the police!"

* * *

"Victim was Dean Russell, age 25. Former soldier, served two tours of duty in the Middle East. Cause of death was mass brain trauma by way of gunshot." a police officer explained to one of his fellows as they ascended the station's steps.

"Any suspects?"

"No. Judging from the prints on the gun, it looks like a suicide."

"Any witnesses?"

"One. Christina Thompson, age 23. She was the victim's girlfriend, and she's saying that some invisible force pushed the gun to the guy's head."

* * *

" _Tina, are you sure-_ " Nancy asked over the phone.

"I'm positive, Mom. Something pushed that gun up to Dean's head, and I couldn't see it. Don't you believe me?"

" _I do. I just hope you're wrong. Otherwise, you're liable to end up in a body bag._ "


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Shadow Man

1428 ELM STREET- A FEW NIGHTS LATER:

"Mom, explain to me what you were so worried about after Dean died." Tina pleaded at dinner.

Nancy sighed as she massaged her forehead.

"Okay, let's get a few questions out of the way. Mister Müller, are you from Springwood?"

"I'm not. I'm from Haddonfield, Illinois."

"Then you're probably safe."

"Safe from what?"

Nancy sighed.

"Way back when, there was a man in this town. He was a menial laborer named Fred Krueger. He was also a delusional psychotic who killed at least twenty children in the neighborhood before he was arrested."

"What do you mean, 'delusional psychotic'?"

"According to the trial transcripts, Krueger apparently believed that he was being visited by demons who told him to kill the children. That and he'd had a prior criminal record of fights and assaults."

"Did they put him away?"

"He walked free. Someone forgot to sign a search warrant in the right place."

"Then what?"

"A group of parents, including my mom, tracked him down to an abandoned boiler room where he took the kids. They doused the place in gasoline and lit it up, burning the bastard to a crisp."

Hank's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Why do I have a feeling that there's a twist to this story?"

"Krueger didn't completely die in that fire. Somehow he got himself a new lease on life by setting himself up in the dream world. And from there, he went about getting revenge on his killers the best way he could think of."

"He went after you and your friends." Hank muttered.

"And a few years later, he went after the last of the Elm Street kids. And since I beat him on his first go-around, he went after me again."

Nancy adjusted her shirt to reveal scars on her stomach.

"He stabbed me with his finger-knives right here." she whispered as she pointed to the wounds.

"How'd you-"

"Somehow, he screwed up."

"Maybe he wanted to keep you around because you put up a good fight." Hank theorized as he set down his fork.

"Why didn't you tell me about this, Mom?" Tina asked.

"Because after my rematch with him back then, he didn't show up again. I didn't think that he'd return at all thanks to the precautions we took."

* * *

LATER THAT NIGHT:

 _Hank found himself in his military gear while standing in a rundown industrial area._

" _Hello? Anybody there?"_

 _As if in reply, a little girl ran up and tugged on Hank's pant leg._

" _Mister, can you help me? My friends and I were exploring a scary building, and they're in trouble now."_

 _Hank nodded._

" _Show me which building, kiddo. I'll save them."_

 _The girl nodded and grabbed Hank by the hand, guiding him to a dilapidated power plant._

" _They're in there, mister."_

" _I'm on my way."_

 _Hank entered the power plant._

 _"Where're your friends in here?" he asked the girl._

 _The child guided Hank deep into the bowels of the plant before stopping in a derelict boiler room._

" _I wonder if these heavy eyes can face the unknown…" he whispered as he surveyed the chamber._

 _Out of the corner of his eye, Hank saw a slender figure moving about in the shadows._

" _Hello? Anyone there?"_

 _The sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air._

" _Hello?"_

" _Well, well, well. What have we here? A white knight in a flak jacket, methinks?" a smarmy voice announced._

" _Where are you?"_

" _I'm right behind you, you lummox!"_

 _Hank turned his head and turned pale as a sheet at the sight of a badly burned man in a red-and-green striped sweater and dingy brown fedora. On his right hand was a glove with knife blades affixed to the fingers._

" _Who are you?"_

" _Call me Freddy Krueger. It's my name anyways, Hank."_

" _How do you know my name?"_

" _I've had my beady little eye on you recently, old boy."_

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with."

 _"Where's the fun in that, Hank? I've got special plans for you, and they involve you not dying."_

 _"What plans?"  
_

 _Freddy condescendingly clucked his tongue._

 _"You'll see, Hank. You'll see soon enough."_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you're wondering about where this fits into _Nightmare_ continuity, this fic assumes that the first film and _Dream Warriors_ are canon (barring Nancy's death in the latter). _Dream Master_ is in broad-strokes continuity, so Alice Johnson may be showing up.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The First Morning After

"So, how'd you sleep last night, Tina?" Nancy asked as her daughter took a seat at the table.

"No nightmares, if that's what you mean."

Nancy sighed in relief.

"Good. Maybe everything is going to be fine after all. Anyways, have you seen Mister Müller?"

"He left about half an hour ago. Poor guy looked like he didn't get a wink of sleep last night."

Nancy's jaw dropped.

* * *

Hank downed another gulp of coffee as he drove around the neighborhood. Standing on a nearby curb was a group of kindergarten-aged girls, skipping rope and chanting an eerie rhyme.

" _One, two- Freddy's coming for you. Three, four- better lock your door. Five, six- grab a crucifix. Seven, eight- gonna stay up late. Nine, ten- never sleep again._ " they chanted.

Hank shivered as a chill worked its way up his spine.

"It was just a dream last night. It was just a dream brought on by Doctor Thompson's story." he whispered to himself, trying to convince himself that the burned bogeyman in his dreams wasn't real.

Just then, his mind wandered again.

* * *

" _Sir?"_

 _A slightly younger Hank Müller looked up from his squad's APC and saw a young Middle Eastern girl._

" _Hey there, kiddo. What brings you here?"_

" _My name is Alya. I've been running for two days, and I'm scared. Can you help m-"_

 _Hank reached into his pack and pulled out a chocolate bar._

" _Eat this. It'll help you a lot."_

 _The girl nodded and devoured the bar._

" _Sir, I've been running for two days from a man calling himself the Khan. He has a compound a fair distance away-"_

 _Hank reached for his radio._

" _Lieutenant Walsh, this is Müller. We've encountered a civilian- little girl, about 8 years old. Says she fled from some guy calling himself the Khan."_

" _This is Walsh. We've been hearing about this Khan guy- apparently he's carved out his own little fiefdom in the area. The powers that be want him taken out, and since you've got somebody who can take you to his lair- you're going in."_

" _Understood, lieutenant. Müller out._ "

* * *

"Tina, I need you to get me a little red book. It's got the words 'Dream Warriors' on the front in black marker-"

Tina handed her mother the book.

"Thanks."

Nancy reached for her cell phone and dialed the first number on the list.

"Maybe tonight- maybe tonight you'll be gone!" she muttered under her breath before the call began.


End file.
